Nicki Minaj calls Steven Tyler racist in Twitter spat

Nicki Minaj has slammed Steven Tyler as a hypocrite and a racist in a series of tweets sent after the Aerosmith star criticised her role as an American Idol judge.

Tyler, who left Idol after last season, criticised his replacement Minaj for what he sees as an unnecessarily harsh judging style in a recent interview with MTV.

"These kids, they just got out of a car from the Midwest somewhere and they're in New York City, they're scared to death; you're not going to get the best [out of them]. ... If it was Bob Dylan, Nicki Minaj would have had him sent to the cornfield! Whereas, if it was Bob Dylan with us, we would have brought the best of him out, as we did with Phillip Phillips. Just saying," he said.

Tyler also advised Minaj to make up with her fellow judge Mariah Carey after the pair fell out earlier this year.